Good Questions: Short Shades for Insulation?

This winter I would like to hang curtains for heat conservation. Lately all I see are floor length curtains. I'm not sure I'm in love with that look (and, who wants to encourage bad cat #1 and bad cat #2 to climb them?).

Any thoughts on curtains that are cut to fit the length of the window or just slightly wider. is that gauche?

Is that gauche? No. But the reason you see all the floor length one's around is that they do dress up a window more by showing off more luxurious fabric which can drape against the floor and by lending a strong vertical element to the wall that can add drama and make your ceilings seem higher.

However, if you want shorter to keep away from the cats, go for it. We would recommend buying whatever curtains you like and having them altered at your local tailor. We would also recommend not going too short, but keeping it somewhere between window sill and floor. If you want to go to the window sill, we would switch to blinds or shades, which also can have great insulating value.

Maxwell left teaching in 2001 to start Apartment Therapy as a design business helping people to make their homes more beautiful, organized AND healthy. The website started up in 2004 with the help of his brother, Oliver.